mg.to - ThinkPad - Comments

I am also trackpoint lover

zamroni — Sun, 30 Oct 2011 02:30:06 +0000

I am also trackpoint lover and don’t like touch pad. If configured properly, trackpoint is a very nice pointing device. When the laptop is in my lap, e.g. while sitting in car or in airport boarding room, nothing beats trackpoint. Patent licensing may cost something, but I thing the main cause why trackpoint is because manufacturer does not default it to useful setting (heaviest touch + fastest mouse speed).

Funny

Sam — Sun, 02 Jan 2011 22:24:49 +0000

I never thought of the trackpoint this way. Since I have both trackpoints and mousepads (plus usually an external move) on every laptop I use I’ll give it another try. In fact, I often try not to use the mouse at all, by using window managers (xmonad) and web browsers (firefox+vimperator) easily controllable with the keyboard only.

I lose $17/hour when I don't use a trackpoint.

Visitor — Fri, 01 Oct 2010 11:57:49 +0000

I’m an average to above average speed touch typist (75 wpm) and a computer programmer; when I’m coding I’ve timed myself and found that I can generate 20% more code per hour with my trackpoint vs a touchpad. I bill 100/hr, what this means is that it costs my clients 20% more when I work on my Mac vs my Thinkpad. When i’m billing by project vs hourly then it means I’m only earning $83/hr if I budget the project using my normal algorithm ( which I developed while working on a ThinkPad ). That’s a big paycut… So it costs me $17/hour to use a computer without a trackpoint! This is what makes Macs expensive, not their actual pricetag.

Why people dislike trackpoints:

1) it has no benefit to anyone who is not a touch typist. if you need to glance at the keyboard frequently to type then you can’t take advantage of the speed increase that comes from keeping your fingers registered on the keyboard at all times. 2) in a default configuration with pointer speed set to medium, trackpoints are very slo…ooow. In order to make the most out of trackpoint the pointer speed has to be set to the highest speed, and enhance pointer precision has to be turned on. 3) learning curve is 2 hours. people don’t have patience for something they can’t learn instantly.

Lenovo Thinkpad Track Trackpoint Keyboard 55Y9003 works with Mac

BillH — Fri, 23 Jul 2010 09:36:31 +0000

Lenovo Thinkpad Track Trackpoint Keyboard 55Y9003 works with Mac MacBook etc!!!!!

The MacBook Pro with the built-in Mac Trackpad is wonderful. Howerver, the red Trackpoint eraser head that IBM innovated into the Thinkpad Laptop Notebook computers in the 1990’s is in some cases quicker to use.

Therefore, I was VERY EXCITED when I tried to connect an external USB Lenovo Thinkpad Trackpoint Keyboard and found that the Trackpoint works very well with my Mac!!!!

In addition, this particular model (55Y9003) of the Lenovo External Trackpoint Keyboard is VERY thin, sits nicely on top of or in front of my Mac or MacBook Pro keyboard, is VERY light, and fits easily into any Laptop case because it’s so light, thin and small

I had a trackpoint on my

Visitor — Sat, 12 Jun 2010 21:10:56 +0000

I had a trackpoint on my first laptop, and liked it, especially with the concave cap.

When buying a new laptop, I specifically limited myself to ones with pointing sticks. I ended up getting a Dell Inspiron, and when it arrived, there was no pointing stick! I wrote to them to ask what happened, and found out they had been removed, along with some of the ports on the back. I looked on eBay and found a keyboard with trackpoint for the same model, and installed it. It worked! But not very well. The Dell trackpoint sucked, and the thumb buttons sucked, too, and I eventually stopped using it and just used the touchpad. I wish IBM-style trackpoints were available for every laptop.

Plug and play

Michael Geary — Wed, 30 Dec 2009 09:56:09 +0000

I didn’t use any drivers on the Mac Mini - I just plugged in the single USB connector from the TrackPoint keyboard and everything works - the TrackPoint as well as the keyboard itself.

Be sure you get the new Lenovo ThinkPad keyboard - it’s greatly improved over the old one and cheaper too.

The part number is 55Y9003 which you can Google to find sources for the keyboard.

IBM USB Keyboard w/ Trackpoint Device on the Mac Mini

Thomas — Mon, 28 Dec 2009 23:00:15 +0000

Hi, I just bought a Mac Mini and I want to use the IBM USB Keyboard with Trackpoint device. You said it works for you. Did you just plug the keyboard in to a USB port on the Mini and it worked automatically? Or did you have to do something more, e.g. use the installer cd that comes with the keyboard, or download drivers from the net, or something else? Any info you can give me is greatly appreciated. Thanks!

KVMs

RS — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 18:44:09 +0000

These keyboards are wonderful, but they do have one serious limitation for me…KVMs. There’s only one USB cable coming from the keyboard, and it combines mouse and keyboard information. Most KVM switches proxy the real keyboard and so if you plug your trackpoint keyboard in to the keyboard slot of the KVM, you lose the mouse…if you plug into the mouse port, you lose the keyboard. The only thing that worked for me was to get a KVM that does USB peripheral switching too (I used an IOGear GCS1734 (or some earlier version of that)…this worked but the hotkeys for switching won’t work so you’re stuck with the buttons on the KVM. Supposedly some very new KVMs may be able to handle this situation correctly (same problem exists for multimedia and wireless keyboards), but I have not tried it out.

Function key?

Visitor — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 20:38:17 +0000

I currently use one of the thinkpad keyboards you linked to and I’m thinking of getting a Mac Mini and using a KVM switch to switch between it and my PC. Your key mapping is good information but do you use the Function key on the ThinkPad keyboard for anything? Does the Mac Mini recognize the function key as anything? Also, could you use the page back and page forward keys near the arrow keys for anything? Any input would be helpful. Thanks!

Mouse click

Zoltan Till — Sun, 01 Mar 2009 22:13:01 +0000

Michael, This is a great tool, but I didn’t find the click, double click and right click options. Can you help me? TIA, Zoltan

both

Visitor — Sun, 08 Feb 2009 09:49:47 +0000

well it would be nice if most laptops had BOTH mouse pad and track point. i see your point about the trackpoint. I used to have one on my old computer until the screen burnt out, the hard drive became toast (with peanut butter on it)and i ripped it up for fun. i got a used laptop from a relative. it had JUST a mousepad. my old computer (ibm thinkpad [used to be my dad’s]) had a trackpoint ONLY. it is not so easy adjusting. i gota MOVE my hand over. too much wasted time. just like a regular mouse, but more annoying. my mom got a refurbished dell computer that had BOTH mousepad and trackpoint. it was awesome cause she let me use it and she was used to a regular mouse plugged into usb anyway and used a usb mouse or the mousepad. anyway, u should invent your own pointing device. would be nice. i would totally buy it under certain circumstances.

TRACKPOINT

Mr. Gerbeck — Fri, 06 Feb 2009 08:37:43 +0000

Trackpoint is people have to get down to business on their laptops for at least a couple of hours. I prefer the trackpoint to a mouse. It makes so much sense: you keep your hands on the keyboard.

Hi, Michael. So is it

Stephen — Fri, 25 Jan 2008 09:26:46 +0000

Hi, Michael. So is it impossible to use a trackpoint keyboard/mouse on a macbook? I’m also a thinkpad user, and I adore the trackpoint mouse. I think that’s why it took me this long to decide to buy a macbook. I just have to have the trackpoint. I don’t know how I’ll fare without it.

Anyway, any advice for a new mac user? Does Lenovo make a trackpoint mouse that would be compatible with the new macbooks?

Thanks so much! =)

I fully agree! I

Pierre — Sat, 05 Jan 2008 10:49:08 +0000

I fully agree! I’ve been a Thinkpad user for years (mostly under Linux) and just love the trackpoint. The day Apple will offer one on its MacBookPro series, I’ll get one!

Natural version

Josh — Mon, 15 Oct 2007 19:20:00 +0000

Someone PLEASE make an ergonomic/natural keyboard with a trackpoint in the middle. There are one hundred doofy ergonomic keyboard companies out there making junk that is not widely appealing and nearly all of them fall flat on their faces by still making you move your hand 8” over to use your mouse, or putting some terrible trackball 3” below the keyboard. I will make this keyboard if no one else does (in 20 years when I retire).